Earl Barban

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Earl Barban
Barban at Sonoma Raceway in 2019
Personal information
Full nameEarl Paul Barban Jr.
Nickname(s)"The Duke", "Big Earl"[1]
NationalityAmerican
Born (1964-10-05) October 5, 1964 (age 59)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
EducationSt. Louis Community College–Florissant Valley
Alma materUniversity of Missouri
Sport
SportAuto racing
PositionSpotter
LeagueNASCAR Cup Series
Team84. (Jimmie Johnson) Legacy Motor Club
Achievements and titles
National finals2006, 2009–2010, 2013, 2016 Cup Series
2014, 2017–2018 Xfinity Series

Earl Paul Barban Jr. (born October 5, 1964) is an American stock car racing spotter and former team owner.

He is a five-time Cup Series champion with Jimmie Johnson and has won three Xfinity titles with JR Motorsports' Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick.

Early life

Barban grew up in

Jennings High School in Jennings, Missouri. During his youth, he had numerous jobs beginning with handing out pizza flyers at the age of 13; other occupations included being a cook at Steak 'n Shake, operating a forklift, driving an airport bus, and applying deodorant balls for Ban Roll-On.[1] In 2020, he noted that his father "used to make fun of me that I had 21 jobs and 21 cars before I was 21 years old."[2]

In 1983, he enlisted in the

Navy Achievement Medal.[1][2] He is an alumnus of St. Louis Community College–Florissant Valley and the University of Missouri.[1]

Racing career

Barban began his involvement in motorsports as a mechanic for a friend's sprint car racing team, followed by a brief driving stint at Pevely Speedway in St. Louis.[3]

He was later hired by

North Carolina Speedway, leading to three broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a ruptured spleen;[7] he returned to his post for preseason testing in January 2003.[8]

In 1995, Barban fielded a truck for Rusty's brother

NASCAR SuperTruck Series, an effort that was supported by Penske.[9] Wallace ran three races for Barban that year in the No. 90 Ford, recording two top-ten finishes and a best run of fourth at Martinsville Speedway,[10] before moving to Penske's own Truck team for 1996.[9]

When Wallace retired after the 2005 season, Barban moved to Hendrick Motorsports' No. 48 team of Jimmie Johnson.[11] Barban's first race as Johnson's spotter was the 2006 Daytona 500, which he ultimately won. Johnson would win that year's championship, though Barban left the team for Yates Racing and Stevie Reeves took over as spotter.[12] He returned to the No. 48 team in 2009,[13] and the duo scored four more titles from 2009 to 2010, 2013, and 2016.[2]

Barban also works at the NASCAR Xfinity Series level for Hendrick affiliate JR Motorsports. Overseeing the team's No. 9 car, he won championships in 2014, 2017, and 2018 with Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick.[14][15] Prior to JRM, he was the spotter for Rusty Wallace Racing's No. 64 team in 2006.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Getting to know Earl Barban, spotter for the No. 48". Hendrick Motorsports. August 6, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Bonkowski, Jerry (May 23, 2020). "How military service helped shape future careers in NASCAR". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Catanzareti, Zach (February 9, 2017). "Spotters: The Unsung Heroes of NASCAR Safety — Part 1". Frontstretch. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  4. Newspapers.com
    .
  5. Newspapers.com
    .
  6. ^ Roberts, Tom. "Rusty Advance". Tom Roberts Public Relations. Archived from the original on June 7, 2002. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  7. Newspapers.com
    .
  8. Ford Racing. January 7, 2003. Archived from the original
    on January 18, 2003. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  9. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  10. ^ "Kenny Wallace – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  11. ^ Pearce, Al (March 10, 2020). "Earl Barban is 7-Time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson's Eyes in the Sky". Autoweek. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  12. Newspapers.com
    .
  13. AMG/Parade
    . Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  14. ^ Cloud, Janine. "Chase Elliott Becomes Youngest NASCAR Nationwide Champion". Skirts and Scuffs. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. ^ Lemasters, Ron (February 8, 2019). "Championship Drive: No. 9 JR Motorsports team". JR Motorsports. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  16. ^ "2006 Busch Series Pit Crew Charts". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved July 11, 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earl_Barban&oldid=1214343246"